Ruthenium-Catalyzed Acyloin Isomerization via Borrowing Hydrogen

Acyloin isomerization is an important transformation in carbohydrate chemistry, biological processes, and organic synthesis; however, the development of effective catalytic methods for this reaction remains challenging. In this work, we have successfully developed a ruthenium-catalyzed acyloin isomerization, which produces a range of α-hydroxyketones. These products can be further converted into a series of valuable molecules. In contrast to the conventional enediol mechanism, we propose that this reaction proceeds via a borrowing-hydrogen process, with a 1,2-diketone serving as the key intermediate.